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Zubeen Garg fans in Jorhat block highway for hours demanding change in funeral venue
Assam chief minister said that the singer's body was not in a condition to be taken to Jorhat and again brought back to Guwahati for cremation.
Fans of Zubeen Garg reportedly blocked the national highway in Assam's Jorhat for several hours on Sunday demanding his mortal remains be brought to the city where the singer, who died due to drowning in Singapore last week, spent his formative years.
Zubeen Garg died in Singapore while swimming in the sea on Friday, a day before he was scheduled to perform at North East India Festival (NEIF). Zubeen Garg's body was brought to Delhi on Sunday and was received by Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The body was later flown to Guwahati, where thousands turned up on the roads to pay their last respects.
Amid demands for cremation in Jorhat or at least bringing the mortal remains one last time there, the Assam chief minister said that the singer's body was not in a condition to be taken there and again brought back to Guwahati for cremation.
Jorhat Police posted a traffic advisory on X in the early hours of Monday saying the National Highway 37 (NH37) was blocked near Ajanta bypass just before entering Jorhat town from west.
Zubeen Garg's cremation at village near Guwahati
The chief minister informed Zubeen Garg will be cremated with full state honours on September 23 at Kamarkuchi NC village near Guwahati.
The Assam chief minister said Zubeen Garg's wife Garima Saikia Garg and sister Pamle Borthakur pointed out that it would not be possible for his 85-year-old ailing father to go Jorhat for the last rites and even later during anniversaries or other rituals, it would be difficult for the family to go there.
The decision on Zubeen Garg's cremation was taken during a cabinet meeting, considering the family's wish that his last rites be performed at a place in or around Guwahati, PTI news agency quoted Sarma as saying at a press conference.
''Three of my cabinet colleagues - Ranoj Pegu, Keshav Mahanta and Bimal Borah - and also a delegation of the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) had discussed the matter with his wife and she had conveyed the family's decision to hold the last rites in Guwahati," Sarma said.
Besides, Zubeen Garg had lived in Guwahati for the most part of his life, he said, adding that his ashes will be immersed in Jorhat, respecting the sentiments of the people of the city.
''We, however, respect the sentiments of the people of Jorhat, with the Cabinet deciding that his ashes will be immersed there and a memorial will be built there," CM Sarma said.
Sarma informed that a memorial will also be built at the place where he will be cremated near Guwahati, he added.
